Into the Spirit World
by Moony vs. Padfoot
Summary: Sirius falls through the veil, & finds out he is dead & in the Spirit World. He is told that he is not supposed to die, & he must find an entrance to the living. He, James, Lily, and a girl named Aisling set out to find it.
1. Into the Spirit World

Into the Spirit World

By Moony

Well, this idea randomly came up, when at Paddy's un-birthday party, she told me about her theory why Sirius never whispered back to Harry in the mirror. I was going to make it humorous, but I decided not to. Enjoy! –Moony

All characters you recognize in this story are JK Rowling's. All others are mine, unless otherwise said so. (Yes, Aisling is _mine_. Please ask permission if you want to use her)

Chapter 1

Sirius felt himself falling. The moth-eaten veil passed over his face, and he saw no more of the Department of Mysteries. His hands groped for something to grab and pull himself up. He had to kill Bellatrix. And Harry…

But there was nothing but space and darkness. Sirius felt he was falling through a hole that had no bottom. All he saw was blackness. At what seemed like hours, his head hit something hard and he blanked out.

Sirius awoke again, and jumped up, snatching his wand. There was no longer and ominous, empty black space. He felt lightheaded and strange. Now he was standing in a pretty garden, and no one was in sight. _Where the hell was he?!_ _And why did the Ministry have that stupid veil in the Department?_ The thought brought him back.

"Dammit!" he cursed. Harry and Bellatrix were still out there, and he was spending time in a flower garden. He needed to find the archway. He knew Harry would be worrying, and he couldn't cause Harry that worry.

But something stopped him. In the distance, he saw what looked like Harry. _Thank god! He's ok!_ Sirius thought. But as Harry came closer, Sirius realized it was not Harry. It was…

"James?" Sirius croaked.

_This is crazy. James is dead!_

But Sirius knew this was James. But James was dead… how could he be seeing him again, still alive and well?

"Yeah, 's me Padfoot."

"But… but… you're dead Prongs…" James said.

_I think I'm going mad. _

"Yeah… I am; took you fifteen years to figure out?" James joked, and grinned.

"Am I going mad or something? Where the HELL is this place? Am I hallucinating? You're dead! Dead people don't come back! How can I be talking to my dead best friend? You're _dead_. Living people don't talk to dead people…"

A sad look came over James' face.

"You don't get it yet?"

"No! What the hell is going on?"

"Sirius… you're dead. You've joined our world now."

The words hit Sirius full force. He felt the wind blow out from him.

"Ok, I thought I was mad before – but this is ridiculous! I just fell through that stupid veil…"

"The Veil of Death," James murmured.

"HELL! What the hell is going on?"

"Look Padfoot, I know this is coming pretty fast, but… you really are dead."

"If I'm dead, why am I standing here, shouldn't I be er… I dunno, dead and not living? Look, my heart is beating!" he said, putting his hand over his heart.

But it was not.

"Hell, am I really dead?"

"That's what I've been trying to tell you… you're in the Sprit World, Sirius."

The two were quiet for a minute. Then suddenly, Sirius gave a yell.

"But Harry! He… he…"

James gave Sirius a sad look again.

"Harry's gonna… he's gonna… He has no one James! He has no dad! He has no one! And… and… He… the prophecy… no one can protect him!"

Sirius whipped around, "You have to show me where the archway is. You have to!"

"I can't…I don't know where it is… and even if I did, we couldn't go there anyway… we're different from them now…"

Sirius heard a faint yell… it sounded like his name.

"He's calling me James, he's calling me. I have to get to him. I have to tell him I'm ok. I have to…"

"I wish he would call me…"

James looked at his feet.

"He never got to know me. I never got to… I never got to escort him to the Hogwarts Express. I never got to teach him the passageways of the school. I never got to send him Christmas presents… he never knew me. But he knows you… and I'm glad for that."

Sirius couldn't control himself. Hell, maybe it was all a dream.

As the two sat there in silence, another figure appeared. Sirius squinted. Red, flowing hair… green eyes that sparkled miles away… was it Lily? And she came closer.

"Lily!" Sirius said in disbelief.

"Sirius?" Lily looked surprised.

"James, what is Sirius doing here? Harry needs him! What happened? How'd you… how'd? What the _hell_? You're not supposed to be – how did you… does Dumbledore… What is going on?!"

"That's what I'd like to know…" Sirius muttered.

"He obviously died Lily."

"But how? So quick? This wasn't supposed to… but… who?"

"Bellatrix…" Sirius muttered, "I was in the Department of Mysteries. And me and Bellatrix were dueling. She shot a spell right at my chest."

"And you died?!"

"No! I couldn't've died from that. And it caught me off guard and I fell… behind that archway in the department."

"Stupid Ministry," Lily said bitterly, "Just keeping the Veil of Death right there, where accidents can happen. Oh, what's Harry going to do now? I'm going to talk to the council."

With that, she disappeared.

_Sirius…_ The echo came across. Sirius wanted to run back to Harry, let him know he was all right, comfort him.

"Well, why don't we go to er… Ash Alley?"

"What's that?"

"Shopping Sirius! What's going on in that crazed mind of yours, come on!"

"But Harry…"

"Sirius, listen to me," James said firmly, "There's nothing you can do for Harry. Believe me, I know. Lily and me, we've been trying. Trying for the past fifteen years to try and connect with him. And we couldn't. The only time we could was when the Prior Incantantum (I think I spelled that wrong). We were just helpless as he fought Voldemort all those years, and we wanted to run down and protect him. But we couldn't. You have to let go Sirius. We can't do anything…"

"But there has to be something!"

James shook his head sadly, "There isn't Sirius, there isn't."

"What about – what about a Time Turner? I can go back, and just not… not… I'll kill Voldemort before he gets to the DoM."

But they both knew it was impossible.

Sirius kept hearing the yells of Harry in his head, and he felt guilty. He had let Harry down.

Even the delicious ice cream of the Spirit World did not soothe his guilt. Of course, he knew it was worse for James, to have suffered fifteen years without being able to do anything. On a happier note, he was with his best friend again. But he had given up Harry, and he badly wanted to be with them both. He knew the times of Marauders were gone now, he knew that, and it wasn't the same carefree tone as it had been in the old times. He knew Harry needed help. He would need to cope, and knowing Harry, he would kill himself to try and be with him – and as badly as Sirius wanted to be with Harry and James, he knew that Harry dying would be horrible. He only hoped Dumbledore would be able to do something.

Dumbledore…

Maybe Dumbledore was the reason he was here. Sirius then felt a pang of guilt again. He knew Dumbledore was only trying to keep him safe…

But then again, it was of course, a fault, and it made him crazy, having only Kreacher as company…

Sirius shook the evil voice out of his head. The world needed Dumbledore and the world needed Harry. They would have to work it out. Sirius wasn't important. Sirius was just a knight, a knight that had died. In the end, Harry would be the only one needed.

"Sirius."

James' voice broke into his thoughts.

"Yeah?"

"Well, maybe you could cheer up a little… I thought… I thought I'd be really happy to see you again, and you too. I thought… I dunno what I thought, but I'm not as joyful as I wanted to be."

Then James whacked himself.

"I sound so selfish! Harry's there, there's no joyfulness in that…" he stared sadly.

"The world is becoming dark Sirius. Harry's the only one who can defeat Voldemort, and now with you gone…"

"He still doesn't know the prophecy… and right now, if he doesn't know why…" Sirius said.

"I'm sure Dumbledore has told him. I'm sure Dumbledore would have realized it."

The two friend stared out the window, until a bouncy, cheery voice broke the sad tone,

"HELLO JAMES!"

Sirius and James jumped. A girl with chestnut, wild hair was there, her eyes shining, and she was wearing a big grin.

"Hello Aisling," James said, and gave Sirius the look, _Oh god, get her off my butt._

"Who's he? Old friend? When did you find him? Did he die last week? Today? Yesterday? The day before yesterday? The day before yesterday's yesterday?"

"Aisling!"

"I'm sorry, I know… it takes time to get used to the Spirit World. But you will _love_ it!"

"Erm… I'm Sirius…" Sirius said, not knowing what to do.

"Oh right, introductions. Haha. Silly me! I'm Aisling Poroir. I'm James' friend."

Sirius glanced at his best friend, who gave him another look, _She wishes!_

"How old are you? Are you the same age as James? Where did you live? Did you have a wife? Did you have kids? Did you go to Hogwarts? Were you in Gryffindor? Huh? Huh?"

"I'm thirty-two. And James is two days older than me. I lived in Surrey. I was single, and I didn't have kids. I went to Hogwarts, I was in Gryffindor."

"Wait a minute…" Aisling said, staring back at him, "You're Sirius _Black_!"

"Yeah, I am."

"OH! OH! James told me all about you! I'm so sorry about what happened, and I want to _kill_ that Peter Pettigrew! Was Azkaban horrible? Were the Dementors evil? Were you scared during your escape? How did it _feel_ to have the whole world think you were a mass murderer?"

"Um, not to be rude, but how old are _you_?"

"Oh, I'm thirteen."

"You died that young?"

"Oooh… yes. I'll tell you, I went to Hogwarts two years ago, and then in my second year, I accidentally fell onto the tracks, and the express… it ran over me and… and… it was horrible. I felt hotness and pain and…"

Aisling shook.

"Then I remember floating away, up here, and then I opened my eyes, and looked down, and my parents were looking over my body. And then I met James, and we became friends."

Aisling said, smiling again.

"And I guess dying isn't so bad, 'cuz now I get to hang out with thirty-year-olds and have a buncha fun!"

"Um, are you always this optimistic and cheery?"

"Oh no, once, Matt pushed me into the bookshelf, and I got really mad!" Aisling replied, all the while smiling and talking in a happy tone.

"I'm sure you did Aisling."

"I _did_!"

"Well…"

"Oh look, there's Milly! I promised we were gonna go shopping for new jewelry today, bye!"

With that, Aisling walked out of the shop.

"_That_ was weird," Sirius said.

"Yup. That be Aisling. She has a crush on me, and she's extremely annoying."

Sirius laughed, "But you're already with Lily."

"You think that'd stop her?"

They laughed together. It was almost like old times. For a moment, Sirius forgot that he was thirty. He forgot about the Order, and Harry. He felt he was back at Hogwarts in The Three Broomsticks, talking with James again. But then guilt crept back in, at the thought of the suffering back in the real world.

What could he do? There was no way, James had said so.

_There's a way to everything. Where there's a will, there's a way._

But he couldn't do it today. He would try, maybe later, but for now, he needed to take things slowly. It was strange. Being dead was almost like being alive, in a way. Like a new life, in the Spirit World. You were dead, but you didn't feel dead. Sirius knew what a ghost felt like. A ghost existed, but did not exist. They floated between life and death. Perhaps a ghost life would have been better, maybe it would have. He would get to be with Harry at least.

But to be in the Spirit World meant you were brave. It meant you weren't afraid of death, and Sirius was proud of that.

It was so confusing. Now he could still eat ice cream, and he was talking to James, his best friend.

Sirius sighed. Perhaps it was all a dream? Maybe he would wake up and be back in the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black. Maybe Kreacher would walk in and wake him up as he ate his ice cream. Maybe Buckbeak would give a loud screech and snap him from the dream. He hoped it was a dream. But he hoped it wasn't. But he hoped it was. It was an aching choice. Harry or James. He wanted to be with James so badly, but he wanted to be with Harry too.

Maybe Harry could die and come here… 

At the moment the thought came, Sirius shook it out of his mind. That was selfish. Without Harry, the whole world would be gone. Muggles would be affected. No, the world needed Harry more than he.

Sirius did not know what to think. He did not know what he wanted, except to be a teenager again, carefree and happy. All his best friends with him. But times were over, and he was a thirty-year-old, stuck in the Spirit World, dead, when his godson most needed him. Hell, how did it come to this?


	2. The World is Suffering

Into the Spirit World

All characters you recognize are JKR's, all others are mine unless otherwise said so.

Well, here it is! And yeah, Paddy, I just realized Sirius does live in London. So EH. –Moony

Chapter 2

The door opened and creaked. Sirius groaned.

"_Not now Kreacher!"_ he muttered.

He pulled the covers over his head, to block out the sounds of the stupid elf. But then again, if Kreacher was putting a Permanent Sticking Charm on something…

Sirius jumped out of bed, ready to catch the revolting house elf.

To his surprise, he was not in the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black. He was in a room painted a pale yellow, and his bed was white instead of gray. There was actually a window in his room, and there was no Kreacher. It was James sitting there.

For a moment, Sirius was confused. How the hell did he get here? And what was James doing, sitting across from him? James was _dead_.

Then the memories flooded back from before. If he had waken up in a 'dream' and everything was still as it was, it was not a dream. Sirius only realized this and sighed softly. There was no going back. He was dead, and he had better get used to it.

"Breakfast Siri? You slept like a log – just the way I remembered you."

"Remembered me? I'm your best friend git, of course you remember me!" Sirius said playfully.

Lily was at the foot of the stairs when they came down.

"Haven't changed any, Black. Still sleeping like a bear in hibernation."

Sirius grinned sheepishly.

"Well, I talked to the Council yesterday. They said they could do nothing about the veil. They would have to figure out a way to send someone into the Alive World, and so far, no archway into the Alive World has been discovered, so they can't."

It seemed no one knew about the archway.

"Cheer up Sirius, they'll find a way. The Council always finds a way. Wanna play Quidditch?"

Sirius turned around.

"_Quidditch?_ There's _Quidditch_ here?"

James grinned widely.

"Miss it, don't ya, Paddy?"

"Let's go!!!"

Lily stood there, looking very aggravated.

"Hello? Am I just gone?"

"No Lily honey. I'm just getting to know Padfoot again. C'mon dear, fifteen years, I just wanna have some _fun_ like old times?"

Lily stood there, her lips pursed.

"_James Potter!_ You _know_ it can _never_ be _old times_ again! We're not in Hogwarts! You're not _Marauders_ again! You're thirty-two! There's a second war going on in there, and _our son…_" she paused to take a breath, then rampaged on, "_OUR SON _is out there, insane, and lost because Sirius just died and now he has _no one_! The world is suffering, and here you are, playing Quidditch and just forgetting about the world?!"

James whirled around, his face was filled with irritation.

"Now _Lily Evans!_ You _know_ that I care! You _know _that! Why can't you just let me enjoy this life for a little bit? I KNOW OUR SON IS OUT THERE! Give me a rest! All you ever do is nag, nag, nag. Come _on_. I _know_ the world is suffering! But I'm with my best friend in the world again, c'mon Evans, don't you understand? Wouldn't you want to be walking into the Three Broomsticks again and chatting away if Amanda came back here again? Wouldn't you?"

"You keep Amanda out of this! But the point is, even if your best friend is up here – you have to try and do _something_. The fact that Sirius is up here makes Harry insane! The world can't have an insane Harry! He needs to be guided by someone!" 

Sirius heard the name Amanda.

"Wait a second – Amanda… Amanda Murray?"

Lily looked at Sirius.

"Yes Amanda Murray…" her face softened a bit.

"What – what happened to her?" Sirius asked, dreading the answer.

"Oh Sirius – you never knew?"

Sirius shook his head, his mouth sagged.

"She… she… Sirius… you know how much she loved you… well, when you… when you went to Azkaban, she couldn't take it. And ah… she didn't think suicide would be enough and ah… well…"

"She got a Dementor's Kiss, Sirius…" James said sadly.

Sirius's brain went numb. It was bad enough that he was here in the Spirit World when Harry needed him most, but now to find out Amanda was… well… a nothing?

Amanda had been Lily's best friend, and Sirius and her had gone out in their sixth year. They were still dating when that horrible Halloween came. Sirius remembered the ringing laugh and her pretty silvery blonde hair. Amanda surely knew he was innocent…

"Lily I – I need to think."

Lily breathed heavily.

"Fine, go think. Come on James. We're going _home_."

As the couple left – James throwing glares at Lily – Sirius dashed into the room he had rented. How the hell had all this happened?

_Think back… think back… what happened?_

Sirius thought. Well, he supposed when Snivellus came back talking about how Harry had went into the Forbidden Forest and had not come back. Then Dumbledore had said that Harry had saw a vision of him being tortured by Voldemort. It was sort of Harry's fault, not that Sirius blamed him. It _was_ a heroic act, and Sirius had been flattered – a bit. He was sure James would have done the same. Snivellus had wanted him to stay. And he might have been right too, but he had been cooped up there for so long! Now, there was a chance for adventure, danger, excitement… just what Sirius needed. He remembered when he had told Harry that he would have welcomed a Dementor attack, and right now, here was another excitement that he could do! It was great opportunity, and he had an easy plan. Go in, save Harry, duel a bit, actually being in the fray and in danger… he loved it. Except for he fell. Judging by the way Lily talked so surprisingly when she saw him, he wasn't supposed to fall. He wasn't supposed to fall yet. But he had. And so he was stuck here. In the Spirit World, while Harry was out there insane. The thought circled back. The world couldn't risk having an insane Harry. An insane Harry would be vulnerable, and if Harry was vulnerable to Voldemort, then the world would might as well explode and be destroyed into bits.

Well, what to do now? He had made a mistake. A stupid mistake that had cost him his life, and a mistake that had put the whole world in jeopardy. It was all his fault.

Well not really… if Dumbledore had not… 

Sirius shook it out of his head. He knew it was not Dumbledore's fault, and he shouldn't blame him. But he felt a sort of resentment toward him. Why? Why had he kept him in the stupid house of Black? That house where all the memories of everything were, the house where Kreacher still walked around – a living reminder to the hell his life at the mansion had been. Had Dumbledore thought he was not careful enough to go out and just see the sun?

He only meant well, Sirius knew, but why not even let him run down the streets a bit as a stray?

_There has to be some way to fix it!_

How? Who would help him? James would. And so would Lily. But the three alone could not do it. Who was powerful enough? Who could? Lily had talked about some council…

Sirius knew what he needed to do. He sprang up from his bed and ran out. He didn't know the way to their home, but he found them still on their way back.

"Lily!" he said breathlessly, "James! Take me to the Council!"


	3. A New Quest

Into the Spirit World

Moony

JK Rowling's characters that you recognize, all others are MINE! (unless otherwise pointed out).

YAY! I'm happy to be getting feedback on this fic. Thanks all you kind reviewers!!!!! –Moony

Chapter 3

Lily blinked, as if the statement did not register. James held his eyebrows funnily.

"You want to go to the Council?" Lily asked.

"Yes, are you deaf?"

"No, but… Sirius, why do you need to see the council?"

"You know, there has to be a way that we can see Harry. If I can get into the Spirit World and die through a veil in the Alive World, then there has to be a way to get into the Alive World and live through some kinda archway."

"That's the most insane idea I've heard, but then again, we've done insaner things before," James chuckled.

"Yes, like when you tried to fight the Giant Squid," Lily said disapprovingly.

"Hey! We were hyper!"

"Uh-huh, and I suppose you were hyper when you put garlic in Professor McGonagall's food on Christmas?"

"It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!" Sirius protested.

Lily rolled her eyes. Sirius and James laughed.

"Now, about the Council," Lily said.

"Right, who's on the Council?" Sirius asked.

"People who annoy me to death…"

"The Council is very powerful James! Though they may be quite… er… weird."

"So they're not nice people?"

"They're nice… but it's really spooky for some odd reason when you walk into that place."

"Well who's on it?" Sirius asked impatiently.

"Let's see now… there's a woman named Marianna Aike, a man named Charles Ima, another woman named Roxanne Diake, another man named Drake Maspen, and a woman named Maria Poroir."

"Is she related to Aisling Poroir in any way?" Sirius asked, the image of the chestnut, wild-haired girl floated in his head.

"Oh, you met Aisling?" Lily asked, throwing a smirk at James, who stuck out his tongue.

"Yeah…"

"Maria's like her aunt or something. Aisling always hangs out around the Council House."

"Which is why I hate seeing the Council," James said.

"James, Aisling is a really cute girl."

"A really cute pain-in-the-butt."

"She's only 13…"

"I wasn't that blah-blah-blah when I was thirteen."

"Yeah, but you were incredibly stupid too."

"Aisling isn't stupid. She's too smart for her own good."

"James, that isn't good of you to make fun of a thirteen-year-old who looks up to you."

"She doesn't look up to me, she has a huge, obvious crush on me."

"Can we get going?" Sirius asked.

"Oh right, let's go."

James vanished.

"We can apparate here?" Sirius said in disbelief.

"Um… duh?" Lily asked, then vanished.

Sirius couldn't believe it. He closed his eyes and thought of wherever Lily and James were, then with a loud crack, he was standing beside them, in front of a tall building surrounded by trees and flowers. But even in the flowery place, there was a feeling of creepiness and eeriness. Sirius was nervous for no apparent reason.

All of a sudden, a figure popped up again. A figure with chestnut, wild hair, bright eyes and freckles. Two words popped up in Sirius's head. Aisling Poroir.

"Hiya Sirius! Lily! James! What're you doing here? Aunty Maria hasn't had a client for a loooooooong time! Do us a favor and don't go visit Ms. Roxanne. She's had thirty clients already, and Aunty Maria has had none, and they're in a sort of war thing for clients."

"Fine, will do," Lily said.

"What're you here for anyway?"

"Secret business Aisling," James said.

"OH, but I'm your friend, and I'll be on the Council after ninety years!!!"

"Ninety years is a looong time. This problem might be forgotten."

"Exactly why I wanna know now! I'm helping Aunty Maria you know, so you can tell me."

"NO Aisling!"

"Why can't I?"

"You're thirteen, I'm thirty-two, do you see the age difference?"

"Yup, 19 years, that's not too big."

"That's a huge difference Aisling! I'm in a whole different generation than you. Just let us go through!"

"Not until you tell me what the secret is."

"AISLING!"

"Uh-uh."

"Aisling, if you don't let us get into this house, we're not going to see Ms. Maria. We will go see Ms. Roxanne," Sirus said.

"Fi-ine. But only 'cuz _you_ said so, and you're going to see Aunty Maria."

Aisling left.

"_Finally_!" James sighed.

"She's actually kind of cute," Lily said, chuckling.

"You wouldn't think that if she was so annoying to _you_."

The trio walked into the building. The inside was just as pretty as the outside. The walls were whitewashed clean, although dull. In one corner there were squishy green sofas around a coffee table and a TV. On the other side were mahogany, polished tables.

At the end, there was a lady sitting at a tall desk. It was rather like being testified below a tall podium by a judge. The lady had glasses, and her eyes were narrowed. She was scowling, as if she had just swallowed a lemon, and when she spoke her voice was sharp.

"Well? What is it this time? _You_ have come bothering me at least 23 times already! What do you want now?!" she asked pointing at Lily.

"This is the Council of Aid of the Spirit Peoples, Bria, you can't be annoyed if a client comes for aid from the council. I suggest you eat some sugar. You look like you ate a lemon," a voice said. Aisling popped up again.

The lady, whose name was apparently Bria, scowled deeper.

"Fine, go in!" she snapped, then pressed a button. A doorway to the side opened.

"Have a nice day!" Sirius teased. Aisling followed behind them.

"She's scared of me," Aisling said proudly.

"I wonder why…" James muttered.

"It's because I'm Maria Poroir's niece, only dead relative living in the Spirit World. And Aunty Maria is very powerful. In fact, she is the second to the top position in the Council. Bria's just angry all the time because she didn't get to be on the Council. It's the job she always wanted, and now she gets angry at everyone. And since she's so angry and snappy, she doesn't get the honor of being called Mrs. Bria anymore. Can you believe that she actually has a husband? It must be someone worst than her. I hate Bria. But Bria's gone at night. Ms. Annie does the night shift, and Ms. Annie's really really nice, and I like her. Too bad we don't get sick in the Spirit World. I would hope Bria got sick every day so she couldn't come, and then Ms. Annie would get to come."

The chatter continued on and on until they got to a door with a gold nameplate that read, Roxanne Diake.

"Oh don't go in there! We have to beat Ms. Roxanne! Not that I don't like her, but we're in a sort of war."

"Right…"

Maria Poroir's office was at the very end of the hall. They pushed the door open, where a nice looking woman was sitting at a desk. She was apparently typing on the computer and did not notice. She had same wild chestnut hair as Aisling and freckles.

"Oh, clients! That's nice! Roxanne has had so many and it's starting to be irritating. How can I help you?"

"Well, I came here, but I didn't die for any reason," Sirius said, as he, James, and Lily took a seat.

Ms. Maria looked a bit bewildered.

"Can you explain?" she asked.

"Well, you see, I was in the Department of Mysteries, and there was this archway, and a moth-eaten veil hanging from it. I fell behind that, and now I'm here, which obviously means I'm dead, but I'm not supposed to be."

"A veil? I have no record of the Ministry keeping a…"

She tapped some words into her computer.

"They are studying Death?? What a horrid… oh, this is bad! It could completely…"

"What? What Aunty Maria?" Aisling asked.

"We need to see the rest of the Council," Ms. Maria said, then pushed a button.

Soon, the other four members were at the door.

"What's wrong Maria? That button hasn't been used for ages! It's supposed to be used only for emergency info."

"This _is_ emergency info."

"What is it? Does it have something to do with the clients?" Mr. Charles asked, looking at Sirius, James, and Lily.

"Yes, this man, er…" Maria began.

"Sirius Black."

"Yes, Mr. Black informed me that he got here because he fell through a veil in the Department of Mysteries, and he got here and simply died. This is very dangerous, I have information that the Ministry of Magic is studying death, which, is why this man fell through. This could increase the population of Spirits immensely, and you know the danger of so many Spirits coming here by accident before their registered deaths." she said.

"This must stop immediately," Roxanne said.

"But how?" Charles asked.

"We must find another archway into the Alive World," Drake said.

"No one has found any way to reach the Alive World yet!" Marianna said, "It's impossible!"

"Then we must find it. If anyone else falls in, it would be a disaster. There is a time to die for everyone, and Mr. Black has come too early, and if too many people come into the Spirit World too early, it will be a big disaster," Drake replied.

"It might take years!" Maria said.

"Then we must start as soon as possible," Charles said.

"But we can't search, then the Council will be deserted!" Roxanne said.

"I will," Sirius said.

"Me and Lily will too!" James replied.

"If you are, then I'm going to find it too!" Aisling said, "I love adventures! I've read so many books about people who go through daring adventures, and now there is a daring adventure! I'm so excited!"

Maria, Sirius, James, and Lily rolled their eyes. There was no danger in the Spirit World, you were already dead.

"Yes, this is good, you are the one who came through the archway, and you must go back. The world needs you right now, and it is important that you go back. However, you three…" Charles said, pointing at Lily, James, and Aisling, "You cannot go through. This will also mess up the world drastically. Life and death is a complicated thing. It is horrible to go back and forth from being alive to dead, it can make you insane and destroy you. You may be tempted, but, Mr. Black, you must stop them. It will destroy them. And Mr. Black, you cannot come back either through the archway, until it is time for you to truly die. It will destroy you also. You will be back someday, remember that."

Sirius nodded. He knew he would be tempted, and he knew that Harry would too, if Harry knew about it. Sirius made up his mind not to tell Harry about it – if they ever found the archway.

"Mr. Black," Marianne said, "When you reach the Alive World, you must tell the Ministry, you must tell them, that the Council of Aid of the Spirit Peoples wishes them to remove this archway into our world."

Sirius snorted, "Ms. Marianne, I don't believe the Ministry will believe me… they think I am a mass murderer and they have no faith in these things."

"Then you must give them this," Roxanne replied, pushing into Sirius's hand, a golden ring, "This will make him believe. I assure you. Do not lose it. It is very valuable."

With that, the Council split and vanished.

"Aunty Maria…" Aisling said.

"Yes dear?"

"I want to go back to the Alive World. I just want to see it, one more time… I only got to live it 12 years, and that's not enough… I want to live more. I want to see my friends! I want to… I want to see Mummy and Daddy. I miss them Aunty! Please, please let me just go through? I'll come back, I promise…" Aisling wailed.

Sirius looked stunned, as did James.

"Believe me, this is the first time she wants something. She's usually happy with what's happening to her…" James muttered.

Maria looked at Aisling firmly.

"Aisling Anita Poroir! Under _no_ circumstances are you to cross the line between life and death. Don't you understand? It's very, _very_ dangerous. Didn't you hear what Mr. Charles said?"

"I did, but… but I want… I want…"

"I want too Aisling, I want to see my mum and my dad. But we can't. It will destroy you completely. Now you are still a Spirit, and you can remain a Spirit forever, unless something destroys you entirely. And the only that can destroy a Spirit is that line between life and death. Going back and forth will destroy you, is that what you want?"

"I'd be content, if I could just… one time…"

"_No_. I cannot take that risk."

Aisling sniffled, then suddenly smiled.

"You care a lot, Aunty Maria. Ok, I won't go! Yippee! An adventure!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

With that, she dove away, happy again.

Sirius stared… "That girl is weird… you would've never guessed she just cried and whined."

"That's Aisling Poroir, she's sad for three minutes and then she's all bubbly again."

James turned around, "When do we start?"

"I think that you should go the day after tomorrow, or tomorrow, if it is possible. The sooner you can find it, the better," Maria Poroir said.

"Thanks, we'll try tomorrow," Sirius replied.

The three tramped out. Neither of them spoke, they already knew the messages that were being given off. Sirius knew how badly Lily and James ached to go through the veil too, though they hadn't shown it by wailing. It was a wonderful thing, to go from alive to dead to see all your old friends, and then back alive… but it was a horrible thing too. Like what Charles and Maria said, it would destroy them. But how Sirius yearned… he wanted to take Harry and Remus through the veil and live in the Spirit World as Spirits forever.

But he couldn't, he couldn't. It was a terrible thing, the knowledge of the archway, the border between life and death. Sirius wished he had never fallen through, because now that he knew, he wanted so bad to go back and forth.


	4. A Game of Quidditch

Into the Spirit World

All characters you recognize are the property of JK Rowling. Yadayadayayda…

W00t! Thanks for all the joyous reviews! Let's begin with some shout outts:

Dans-girl-4ever: Yes, we must help Sirius. This new information is surely driving him crazy.

Brilover: Thank you for the compliment, I am very honored. No, this is not a one-shot, as you can tell, I'm on Chapter 4, so of course not.

Eratosthenese: Thank you, thank you, thank you. But it's not a one-shot. Oh no, it's not. The story shall CONTINUE!!! Thanks for pointing out the mistake, I always manage to do something like that.

Padfoot: Fine, Sirius lived in London. EH!

Dans-girl-4ever: Yes, yes, anticipating anticipating…

Brilover: Psychotic? What makes you think that? Ok, maybe a little…

Patriot Girl: I am glad you changed your mind and read my fic. And it's a mistake that Sirius is there anyhow, I do hope he finds the archway and gets back… we'll just have to see.

RoWaN bLaCk: Thankies thankies. Me likes, me likes. Lolz. I like capturing Sirius.

Eratosthenese: YES CLIFFIE!!!! MUAHAHAHAHA! I SHALL TORTURE MY READERS WITH UNTOLERABLE CLIFFIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Patriot Girl: See above comment for Eartosthenese.

Miss Piratess: Thank you, thank you for the comments on my characters. Yes, I fell in love with Aisling too! She's my favorite character in this. And I loved your fic, I'd Kill You If You Weren't Already Dead. You're one of my favoritest authors here on And I guess it is, in a way humorous…

Willow Evenstar: Yes, yes. I will update!

Dans-girl-4ever: Poor, poor Siri, Lily and James.

Eratosthenese: Well, Aisling will be with them… sorry.

Vaguely Amused: I'm sorry, but the age doesn't really matter in this story, so I don't really care. I only made up an age, it's a really trivial thing. The conversation was just to show everyone what a pain Aisling was.

YAY!!! Thanks all reviewers. Now, to the story.

Chapter 4

The next morning, Sirius woke up, knowing exactly where he was. He just rose and quickly dressed. He had spent the night at Lily and James' home.

Sirius couldn't describe the sort of feeling he felt right now. It was so _weird_. Just days before, he had been alive and miserable, and now coming here, it was strange. He was dead, but he could wake up and touch things, it was as if he was alive, but dead. And now he was actually getting used to it.

After he had brushed his teeth, washed his face, and dressed, he opened the bathroom door, where James was waiting.

"You changed in one way," he said, grinning.

"Yeah?" Sirius asked.

"You get up early."

Sirius laughed. Back when he was at Hogwarts, he was always the last one awake, therefore, he had made his friends late for class waiting for him.

"I'm a morning bird now," Sirius joked.

"Suuuure…"

Sirius had gotten up early particularly today, because well… he didn't know why. It must've been something to do with him being dead.

After everyone had dressed, brushed their teeth, and everything necessary, the three settled down for breakfast, though they didn't need to eat of course. Sirius found it quite odd that even though you got hungry, you couldn't exactly 'die' of hunger, so you didn't really need to eat. It was just a little torture that bothered you.

Lily made pancakes and they ate in silence. Neither of them knew what to say. Soon they would be looking for some archway into the Alive World who-knew-where, and how was a conversation supposed to be opened up on that.

Lily broke the ice.

"So how was Harry like? I mean, I know we watch him, but we only see glances."

"He was a lot like Jamesie. I sometimes thought he _was_ Jamesie, 'cept for when I saw the green eyes that he's got."

"A lot like James, in what way??" Lily asked, raising her eyebrows, "You didn't encourage him to…"

"Blow up toilets?" James asked, eagerly, "You did encourage him right? And taught him all the passageways and everything? So he can be a little Marauder?"

Sirius grinned. Lily frowned, "James! I don't want Harry becoming what… what you were at age fifteen."

"Don't worry Lilykins. He has a bit of you in him too. He's not as much of an idiot as James was. And I assure you – he doesn't blow up toilets, though I have mentioned it once in a while… as for all the secret passageways, I do know he somehow came ahold of the Marauders' Map."

"That old map? Does it still work? How did Harry get it?"

"No clue. He just got it. Plus, Arthur Weasley's twins, found it I think. They know them passageways as good as us. I say, they would be a perfect addition to our Marauder team if they were living in our time."

Lily was frowning even deeper.

"But he didn't do anything _stupid_ and _dangerous_ with it?" she said.

"Well… sort of, it was kind of a danger when he did it, you know. When they thought I was a mass murderer and all, he wasn't supposed to go to Hogsmeade when I was supposed to be trying to kill him. But he has your old cloak, and he found out that passageway to the Hogsmeade cellar."

"Brilliant!" Jamnes exclaimed.

_Pop_.

"Hi guys!!!!! Are we ready to go yet?"

Sirius and James groaned in unison, _"Aisling…"_

"Well, are we?" Aisling asked.

"Actually Aisling, what we're doing is called eating… and if you can see, I still have half a pancake left to finish," James said sarcastically.

"How'd you get here anyway? You're only thirteen, you're not old enough to Apparate," Sirius said.

Aisling rolled her eyes, "He-loooo? It's not as if you can actually die or have something horrible happen to you here… I got my license _early_."

"Why don't you help me with the dishes, Aisling?" Lily asked.

"Oh no!" Aisling said, still smiling, "I _hate_ doing dishes. It was the worst chore I had to do back in the Alive World."

"Well, could you help me clean up?"

"Can't I just sit here and talk to Sirius?" Aisling asked, "Oh, and James?"

Sirius glanced at James nervously, who held back a snicker. It seemed that Aisling's devotions had turned to someone else…

"I suppose… JAMES POTTER, you help me with the dishes!" Lily said, turning to James.

"Yes dear…"

"Hey, when do we leeeeeeeeeave? I wanna start on the perilous quest!!!!" Aisling whined.

"After we do the dishes," Lily said, pushing James into the kitchen, who was holding a stack of dishes.

Aisling grinned.

"A perilous quest, a perilous quest! Then someone might write a book about us, the four of us, Aisling Poroir, Sirius Black, James Potter, and Lily Potter and the Search for the Archway to the Living!" she said.

"Mhm…" Sirius said not paying attention to the constant chatter.

At last, Lily came out with a basket full of food and James too.

"YIPEEE! We're leaving!!!!!!!!!!!" Aisling screamed.

"Um… yay?" James said.

Somehow, the thought of leaving the house to search years and years for some weird archway wasn't as exciting as Aisling put it. Number one, they didn't know how long they would searching. Number two, the temptation to jump into the Alive World when you had been dead for 15 years was huge. Number three, they were dealing with an obnoxious, chatterbox thirteen-year-old.

As they walked across the still-dewy grass, it seemed no more different than a little walk. No one would guess that they were searching for a legendary archway into the Alive World. It was actually really boring. It was just as if well, they were walking…

But they were searching for something extremely important.

Hell, everything seemed weird in this world.

"You know, we don't have to make it a 'perilous quest'," James said, "We can just call it a… a road trip."

"Oh goody! I love road trips!" Aisling said happily.

"Well, our first stop is right here!" James said, pointing at a sign.

"ROSEN'S QUIDDITCH FIELD"

"Quidditch!" Sirius breathed. He had wanted to play that time, but of course, Lily had stopped them, "You're not stopping us this time, Evans?"

Lily looked at Sirius, "I'm not Evan's anymore _Black_."

"Right, sorry. Old habits die hard. Let's go!"

James and Sirius ran ahead past the gate. A wizard standing at there said, "Hold it!"

"Yees?" James asked.

"I'll need money. How many and what kind of brooms will you be renting?" the wizard asked.

"Aisling, are you playing?" James asked.

"You bet! I was a Keeper!"

"Ok, we'll be having three."

"What kind?"

James thought, "Can I get a Firebolt?"

"Me too!" Sirius said eagerly.

"Me three!"

"They cost 300 galleons _each_."

"Whew! That's more expensive than in the Alive World!" Sirius said.

"Yeah, well we have tons to spend!" James said, "Enjoy it Paddy!" James pushed 900 gold coins into the man's hands, whose eyes turned just as big as the coins.

"Here's your tickets, Dave'll show you the way to the brooms," the wizard said, giving them each tickets.

The man named Dave led them into a shed, unlocked it, and gave them three beautiful Firebolts.

"You'll be placed on another team with four more people. I need to get the positions you play so I can place you accordingly.

"Keeper," Aisling said immediately.

"Chaser," James said (A/N: Yes, James is a Chaser! JKR said so in an interview).

"Chaser," Sirius said.

Sirius felt the broom vibrating in his hands. He hadn't been on a broom for so long… The feel of this new, beautiful broom in his hands was wonderful.

"All right, I'll go looking for another Chaser, Seeker, and two Beaters. You can practice here. When you see red sparks, just come on down."

Sirius did not hesitate, he kicked off right as he sat down. The sensation was pure ecstasy. The wind whooshed on his face, and his long hair blew back. He dived, he swooped, it was pure bliss. Never had Sirius felt this free. He didn't want it to end. He stared as blue sky was around him, and he went through a cloud. He could see James swirling up toward him, and Aisling flipping around on her broom. Lily was watching from below.

It was bliss. If the fact that he was going to be leaving soon and that the other world was in darkness wasn't looming in the air, he would've stayed forever.

James was circling over head, until Aisling called out, "I see sparks!"

They dove and landed. Dave smiled, "You three are great Quidditch players."

He led them to a different field, where four other people were waiting with Nimbus 2000s in their hands.

"Well then, we'll have the fastest brooms on this team," Aisling said.

Soon, the other team came by. Dave himself sat on his broom, and released the Snitch and the Bludgers. The two teams faced each other.

"3… 2… 1!"

The Quaffle was thrown. Sirus dove for it. The excitement was exhilarating. He passed it to James, who threw it into the goal and scored ten points.

But the Quaffle was now moving towards their goal. Whoosh! It flew past Sirius before he could catch it – but Aisling caught it and threw it back. No doubt she was a good Keeper. Sirius looked to see their seeker, who was hovering overhead, his eyes narrowed, searching for the tiny, fluttering, golden ball. It reminded Sirius of Harry, in his Quidditch games. Harry had inherited James' great Quidditch skills.

The other Keeper on their team threw Sirius the Quaffle, it caught him off guard, but his instincts kicked in, and he caught. Sirius began to fly towards the other goal, but a Bludger was pelting his way. He ducked and threw the Quaffle back to the other Keeper, who flew towards the goal, and tried to score – but the other team's Keeper blocked it.

The Quidditch game ended, with the other team winning. Aisling was surprised, "I can't believe they won! Our Seeker was _really_ bad, and even though we had _Firebolts_! I never rode that kind of broom before! It was really wonderful!"

Sirius didn't mind. It had been exciting. He hadn't played for so long, and it was the best thing he had done so far in this world.

Breathing heavily, the three returned their broomsticks.

"That was wonderful playing you three," Lily said, giving James a kiss.

"Yeah, our Seeker couldn't see the Snitch that was like right next to his ear," James mumbled.

"Ahh well, you can't always get a good team," Sirius said.

It had been a wonderful day. The four walked down the road and into a hotel, where Lily rented a room to stay for the night. Sirius finally slept soundly that night.


	5. Meeting The Family

Into the Spirit World

Moony

Yay! I'm loving the reviews! I know the last chapter wasn't interesting and really had no point in the plot at all, but this one will be better. I finally found time to write the rest too! -Moony

Chapter 5

"This is soooo hopeless!" James groaned.

"I'm with you. We can't apparate wherever this place is, and we are just meant to wander around aimlessly and by some miracle find this archway!" Sirius sighed.

"We could be wandering like this for twenty years and never find that archway, this is soooo stupid. Isn't there some easier way?"

"'Fraid not. No one knows about this veil except Sirius. But he has no clue where the veil into the Living is," Lily said flatly.

The places had become quite desolate and devoid of any civilization now. It was all dirt and occasionally you saw some flowers. There was no houses or people or shops to be seen for miles.

"How come no one settles here?" Sirius asked. As he did, a small house came into a view.

James looked a little uncomfortable.

"Well, you see, in that house… there's a lady. A lady who no one wants as their neighbor and well…"

"What's so bad about here?"

Suddenly, a loud screeching could be heard that sounded all too familiar.

"REGULUS BLACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Sirius's mouth turned dry. He hadn't given a thought to other dead people. But if she was here… then…

James gave him a look of sympathy.

"Er… the old family's here… Siri."

"Hurry, before she sees us!"

"Right, move!" Aisling called.

They tried, but to their bad luck, Mr. Black was in outside.

Sirius froze, as his father snapped his head up. He felt the glare, and then the disbelief.

"_You – you're_ _here???_"

Sirius took a deep breath.

"And with your… your _friends_… I thought I'd never have to… never have to see that – that _Potter_ boy again!" he snarled, pointing at James, "Or you…"

"Give it a rest… _Father_," Sirius groaned.

"Cassiopeia!! Cassi! Come right here! NOW!" he yelled.

"Oh no… oh dear… oh my… Sirius I think – " Lily muttered.

"WHAT, WHAT HAVE YOU CALLED ME OUT FOR????!!!"

"Does she ever say anything in a normal tone?" Aisling whispered.

"Er, yeah, when she's talking to Regulus. Or her Pureblood friends."

"Cassi I think…"

But her head had already turned.

"YOOOOOOUUU! YOU TRAITOR!!!! SHAME ON THE BLACK HISTORY!!!! WHY ARE YOU HERE???? GET OUT! GET OUT! I NEVER WANT TO LAY MY EYES ON YOUR UNWORTHY BODY AGAIN!!!! LEAVE! BEGONE!"

Next, a short, weak looking figure walked out.

"What's the all the commo- "

"SIRIUS!" he yelled.

"Oh look, the whole family is overjoyed to see me," Sirius said, rolling his eyes. He couldn't believe his luck. Shouldn't they have all gone to some other place for bad people or something?

"But – you're dead now… how the heck are you…"

"I died of old age, yeah," Sirius said sarcastically.

"Stop it. Be serious."

"I am Sirius. It says so on my birth certificate."

Regulus groaned.

"You haven't changed. You're still the stupid older brother."

"Oh I'm stupid now aren't I? Look who ran off to join the Death Eaters?"

Regulus turned red, "That… that… that was a mistake."

"Uh-huh, yeah a _mistake_. I was in the Order of the Phoenix. You can see I was not killed. What were you thinking? It was Voldemort you were joining!"

"Shut up Sirius!"

"Make me!"

"Oh my…" Lily said as the brothers grabbed their wands.

"Fine!"

"You know I'll beat you. I'm the older one, I always win."

"But I'm 29 now. I've gotten older you see…"

"But you're still the puny little brother."

"NO! STOP! GET OUT OF MY SIGHT! I WILL NOT STAND FOR THIS!" Sirius's father yelled.

"GET OUT! GET OUT!" Sirius's mother yelled.

"I'M GONNA GET YOU!" Regulus yelled.

"SHUT UP THE LOT OF YOU!!!!" Sirius yelled.

It was sadly to say, that during this yelling match, Harry called into the mirror. Over the yelling, Sirius could not hear the voice in his mirror.

"LEAVE!"

"FINE! FINE! I'M LEAVING!!! SEE, LOOK, LEAVING!!!!"

They headed off in silence for a while. Dusk soon fell, and they conjured a tent with all homely appliances. As Lily cooked dinner, and Aisling helped, Sirius and James laid on the bed, and started to talk.

"What's happened since I was gone?" James asked, "What's Voldemort doing? I know he's come back to power…"

"Well, Dumbledore said something about… like how he wants to build an army again and stuff. And Harry had these dreams about the Department of Mysteries. Then, he had this vision of me being tortured, and he went to er – save me. Yeah. He encountered the prophecy – "

"The prophecy's still around?"

"Yeah. Well, he saw it, and he grabbed it, and the Death Eaters wanted it yeah. And the lot of kids were in huge danger. So, the Order went and saved them. And then I fell through that veil."

James was silent for a moment.

"Sirius, why didn't Harry check to see if you were there first? I don't think he was so stupid…"

"I don't know. It would've been easy. All he had to use was the Two-Way Mirror I gave him… he didn't use it all year. I'm starting to wonder if he even opened it."

"The Two-Way Mirror? Sirius! You're a genius! Do you have it with you?" James asked excitedly.

Sirius's eyes widened. He understood.

"Oh gawd! I'm so stupid! I could've contacted him weeks ago… I've had this thing inmy pocket for ages!"

"And I can see him! I can talk to him! Sirius this is great! And when we get hooked up with his mirror, Lily can come too!"

The two friends excitedly took out the mirror.

"Harry…" Sirius said into the mirror.

Nothing happened.

"Harry Potter…" Sirius said, more clearly.

James tried. Nothing happened. At last, a reflection of themselves appeared, as if the mirror were just a normal mirror.

There was only one way that happened.

"James… I think he… he smashed it," Sirius whispered. Once, he had been so excited. But now, it was deflating. But he was upset. Why had Harry smashed the mirror?

James was just as disappointed, Sirius saw.

"Do you… do you think he was mad at me? I was… I was a bit moody at Grimmauld Place, but…"

"No. I don't think so. He's a teenager Siri. I think he was mad that he couldn't contact you, and he smashed the mirror."

"I hope it was that…"

"Ah, cheer up. We'll find it. We'll find that archway into the living."

"Dinner!" Lily called.

The two hurried into the kitchen.

Aisling was setting the table. She peered at the clock, and suddenly looked very flustered.

"Oh! I need to – um I need to go and – go and get something that I left! I'm sorry! I know exactly where it is though! I'll be back!"

Without a reply from any of them, she dashed out the tent.

"She could've eaten first," Lily said, "I'll just put some soup aside for her."

Lily ladled tomato soup into four bowls. They sat down and sipped the hot soup in silence. After five bowls, and an hour, Aisling had still not come back.

"I thought she knew where it was?" Sirius wondered.

"I dunno, maybe she spotted something she just _had_ to examine," James said, rolling his eyes.

Lily cast a worried look at the exit.

"It's getting really dark, do you think we should – "

"I'm back!" Aisling's voice rang, "Sorry it took so long, but look, I found… _this_."

She pulled out a piece of parchment.

As Lily and James examined it, Sirius scrutinized Aisling. She looked different, somehow. Her hair was the same, she still had freckles, but she looked just… _different._ Sirius could not put his finger on what it was. She seemed to be glowing, and her cheeks were rosier, which was strange because the weather was warm, not cold.

Aisling blushed, and her cheeks turned into scarlet instead of crimson, and Sirius quickly lookd at the parchment.

It was a strange thing, a map of some sort.

"It says, Entrée dans la vie," Aisling said, in perfect French pronunciation, "It's French for, 'entry in the life'."

Sirius was surprised. He looked at her.

"How do you know?"

Aisling seemed very flustered again.

"Auntie Maria taught me French very well. She's fluent in Spanish, French, and English."

"Wait – did you hear what she said? It means 'entry in the life'. Do you think, this is instructions to finding the archway?" Lily asked, incredulously.

"Read the rest Aisling! Translate!" James said excitedly.

"1. Trouvez l'homme qui doit vivre encore. – find the man who still must live," Aisling said.

"Well, we have him, that's Sirius," James said, "Read on!"

"2. Trouvez ses aides. – find its assistances."

"That's us," Lily said, "Number 3."

"3. Trouvez la mère de l'homme. – oh…" Aisling stopped.

"What?" Sirius asked.

"You are _not_ going to like this Sirius…"

"What??" Sirius demanded.

"Sirius… it says we have to find your mother…"

Note that I used an online translator for the French. If you are French, and any French I have here seems incorrect, please let me know! –Moony


	6. The 'Hidden Street'

Into the Spirit World

Moony

Yaaaaaaaay! The chapter made me excited to write a new one! I know my last chapter had a lotta dialogue, and I tried to cut some out here. –Moony

Chapter 5

"My – my mum?" Sirius asked.

"Yeah."

"Oh great. And when we find my mum, do you really think she's going to agree to this whole thing about sending me back to the living?" Sirius said, "Let's just… let's just stick with the plan of walking around and looking for it. Anything's better than asking my dear old mother for help."

"Sirius, no. Right now, luck has just fallen into our hands. This is a way! We have to try and follow it," Lily said.

"I'm telling you, it's gonna be hard to convince my mother."

"But, what if we make it seem like you _don't_ want to go to the living?" James asked.

"How's that gonna help?"

"Well, whatever you don't like, your mother's gonna try and make you do, right?"

"You're right!" Sirius said.

"And we can tell her that if she never wants to see Sirius again, she has to help send him back to the Living!" Aisling said excitedly.

"Right, but what are we supposed to do when we get my mum?" Sirius said.

Aisling looked at the paper.

"La mère est celle qui trouvera l'entrée à la vie. That means, it'll be your Mum, who finds the archway…"

"But it says something else after that!" James pointed out.

Aisling looked again.

"avec un ange… with an angel."

Sirius saw a huge glow erupt for one split second, and it was gone. He was bewildered. Where had the glow come from? Had an angel arrived at those words?

But there was no new person in sight.

"What happens after all that?" Lily asked again.

"Après que vous ayez fait tout ce qui est exigé, vous devez suivre la carte. That means after we've done all that, we have to follow the map."

"But there is no map," James said.

"There's some text there, maybe that explains it," Sirius said, pointing.

"La carte apparaîtra seulement quand vous avez fait tout ce qui est exigé. Oh, it'll only appear when we did all the steps that are required," Aisling said.

"Then we have to find my mother," Sirius said with a moan.

"We'll have to go back tomorrow," Lily said, "I hope you don't get into a row with Regulus again."

"No, I don't think Sirius should go. I think Aisling should go, and tell her that there's only one way to get rid of Sirius. Like Aisling wants to betray us, then she'd do it," James said.

"Wow, Potter's smart!" Lily said, affectionately.

"Oh that's great! I get to take part in a role to finding the end of our quest!!!!!!!" Aisling said excitedly, "I'm a crucial character!"

James rolled his eyes. So did Sirius. It was settled then. The four headed for the beds. In less than five minutes, James, Lily, and Aisling were peacefully asleep. But Sirius was still awake. He laid, staring at the ceiling. He was wondering. Why _had_ Harry smashed the mirror? Did he think he was keeping Sirius safe that way? Or maybe Harry _hadn't_ opened the mirror until after he passed through the veil… maybe that was why he hadn't used the mirror to contact him. He had somehow kept using the fire, Sirius had thought it odd before, but he had just thought Harry wanted to talk face to face, so he hadn't said anything.

But then, Sirius's mind raced off again to wonder about Aisling. How had _she_ changed? Why was there some kind of golden glow around her? Sirius peered down, and saw her cheeks were still rosy, though it wasn't extremely hot, nor cold. And where had Aisling really gotten that parchment? A parchment for the entrance to life wasn't supposed to be just lying around. Why had she even left in the first place? Sirius realized that, Aisling had used the excuse that she had to 'get something'. But she had come back with only that parchment in her hands. She could not have went to especially get the parchment, since she had claimed to have 'found it'. What was up with Aisling? Was she hiding something? Did she know something about the entrance to life?

Also, what was that huge glow that had erupted after Aisling spoke the words angel? Had an angel come down? Was that angel going to help them find the archway to life? Or was whatever it was just going to watch them and do nothing?

Sirius rolled over and tried to think. Nothing made much sense. The Spirit World was so… confusing.. Or maybe it only was because he wasn't supposed to be here yet.

Sirius began to wonder what was happening back in the Living. What was Voldemort up to now? Had he already recruited the Dementors and Giants? What was going on with the Ministry? Was the Order ok? What were the kids like? Had Percy made up with the Weasleys? Who was taking care of Buckbeak? How was Remus?

Sirius felt a bit guilty. He felt he had somehow left Remus, as the only true Marauder left. Wormtail was a Death Eater, so he didn't count, and James and he were up in the Spirit World, while he was isolated down in the Living. He had no Marauders. No Padfoot or Prongs.

It was really the first time since he had just arrived that he was thinking and wondering about the Living. He hadn't thought about it for a while. Most of the time, he was exhausted and just fell asleep. But tonight, it was that glow, that glow Aisling gave off. The glow that had erupted so suddenly after the words 'angel' were spoken. And that piece of parchment.

At last, sleep and Sirius met. Sirius fell asleep until morning, still wondering.

The smell of pancakes wafted through the room. Sirius yawned and woke up, not wanting to miss out. He had learned his lesson the day Lily had made chocolate chip pancakes and he had woken up late and he had only three of them on his plate.

James woke around the same time too, and the two headed for the kitchen. Aisling was already there, of course, and she was dumping loads of chocolate chips into the fresh batter that Lily was making.

"Hi James! Sirius," she said, waving, "I was talking to Lily. I'm gonna go talk to your mother in a few minutes, after I eat breakfast."

"Sure, good luck to you," Sirius grumbled.

He was still studying her. Sure enough, she was still glowing. Her cheeks were still rosy. And this time, her eyes were more shiny.

'_What is going on with Aisling?_' Sirius wondered. Sirius saw the shiny eyes catch his gaze, and he looked away quickly. It was so odd. Sirius shook his head and took a seat.

The stack of pancakes Lily set in front of him were still warm, and Sirius poured syrup all over the stack. He took up his knife and fork and began to eat.

Aisling sat on the other side of the table facing him and ate too, while James was searching the pantry for Butterbeers.

"Did we run out of Butterbeers Lily?" he asked.

"No, I think there's like, twenty more in the back of the pantry somewhere. Look for it."

James stuck his head even more into the pantry.

"Aha!"

He pulled out four dusty bottles of Butterbeer and sent them to the table.

Sirius took one and drank deeply. It felt good, but it didn't soothe his thoughts. His mind was racing more than ever. He felt that Aisling knew something. Something that would help them get to the Living. But why was she hiding it from them? Perhaps Aisling wanted to return to the Living herself and leave them?

But Sirius knew that Aisling would never do such a thing. Aisling may have been wild and careless and annoying, but she really cared about other people. Ditching someone in the Spirit World who was supposed to be in the Living was not something that Aisling would do. Then what was Aisling hiding about the Living? Did she have something to do with them finding the Entrance?

"I'm leaving!" she said, and leapt from her seat. As she turned to leave, Lily stopped her.

"I think it'd be safer if James came with you, you know, just in case Mrs. Black uses magic… You're only thirteen after all."

James gave Lily a look, then said, "Yeah sure, why not?"

He stood up too.

"See you later, Lils. Siri."

They headed out the door. The minute this happened, Lily spoke.

"What's the matter with you Black? You seem to be… I dunno. You're not like yourself. Not the fun, prankster you were when we were at Hogwarts. And I kinda miss that. I was expecting… I dunno what I was expecting… I was expecting that you and James would be like… the same as you were. I was kind of looking forward to that. But you're not like that. What's been going on?"

Sirius heaved a sigh.

"A lot of things have been going on Lily. It's really hard being that person again. I mean, I was in Azkaban for thirteen years, I was hiding in a cave and living off rats, I was back in Grimmauld Place with no one but that dratted Kreacher there as company, Dumbledore wouldn't let me go anywhere, Voldemort's coming back, Wormtail betrayed us, and I fell through that veil leaving Harry all alone. It's like a big barbell constantly on your back, Lily. It's hard to pull pranks and stuff when you've got a barbell on your back. I don't think I'll ever be that person again."

Lily looked at Sirius. Her eyes were bright.

"Oh…" she said softly, "I just… I just didn't think that person would ever change."

Lily turned into the kitchen. Sirius sat at the table. He stood up and headed to the living room. As he went through, he saw a picture that was stood up on a shelf. The tent was supposed to be just exactly like the home Lily and James had back somewhere else in this world.

The picture made his heart stop. He stared at it and swallowed. Five young teenagers in Gryffindor robes. Sirius's heart throbbed. There was Sirius, standing next to James, who was standing next to Lily. Peter was beside Lily, and Remus was beside Sirius. They were smiling and standing beside the lake. You could just make out the tentacles behind the group. As Sirius watched, his photo hands reached out to give James a poke, who poked back. Lily and Remus were waving, and Peter was smiling, just smiling.

But a cheery voice called out,

"We're baaaack!"

Sirius turned and quickly walked to the entrance, and Lily walked out from the kitchen.

"So soon?"

"Yeah. It wasn't exactly enjoyable. I say your Mum yelled the entire time," James said gloomily.

"But she agreed to do it!"

"Greeeat. Just what I need, my dear old Mother following me around the whole time and screaming at my back."

"Well she's meeting us tomorrow, and you can't change it Sirius," Aisling said defiantly.

"But what about the angel? It says the mum's supposed to find it with an angel. Where do we find an angel?" James said, "It's impossible to find one, since angels never tell you they're angels until they did the deed."

Sirius noticed that the glow grew stronger from Aisling, who blushed.

"Well, we'll find her later I bet, see, the map's appeared. I'm sure the angel will appear, uh… later."

They directed their eyes to the map. It was something like the Marauder's Map, but only the four of them and Sirius's mother appeared as dots. It showed them moving along to some street that read 'Hidden Street'.

"I've never heard of Hidden Street, have you James?" Lily asked.

"No, and I know this whole Spirit World really well," James said.

"Well, I suppose it's called _Hidden Street_ for a reason," Sirius replied.

"Yeah, so how're we going to find it? It's just like wondering all over again, except this time looking for 'Hidden Street'," James said.

"Maybe Sirius's mother plays a part in this?"

"Yeah, that might be," Lily said thoughtfully.

"How come you're getting all these great ideas that always fits the puzzle?" Sirius asked sharply. He was still trying to figure what was going on with Aisling. He watched as Aisling turned red, then said quickly, "Well, I'm just, I'm just thinking is all. You know, using the clues. Auntie Maria said I was quite a smart one, so I guess she was right hm? Hey, let's get camp packed up and get Sirius's Mum and go try to find Hidden Street."

"Of course," Lily said, "Out of the tent everyone!"

Aisling pocketed the parchment, and they headed out as Lily said a spell and the tent folded up into a tube, which fit nicely in Lily's pocket.

"Now, off to Sirius's mother's house," Aisling said cheerfully.

"Oh yippee…" Sirius said sarcastically, "I can't wait to see my mother again!"

They arrived at the ramshackle house, where the screams could be heard from ten miles away.

"Hi Mum," Sirius said with a false cheeriness.

"YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOUUUU! YOU TRAITOR! SHAME ON THE FAMILY!"

"Um, Mrs. Black, would it be ok, if you don't yell at Sirius while we try to get him away?" Aisling said, then muttered loud enough for Sirius to hear, but acting as if it were a secret, "It's the fastest way to get rid of him."

Mrs. Black narrowed her eyes, but was quiet the whole way, though she threw many glares, and hissed towards Sirius a good many times. After a while, Aisling showed her the parchment.

"Mrs. Black, do you think you have an idea where the street called 'Hidden Street' is."

Sirius watched his mother's reaction. She froze and shrieked, "HOW DID YOU FIND IT? HOW DO YOU KNOW?"

Aisling shrunk back, "Know? I – we need to find it… do you know about the 'Hidden – "

"THE HIDDEN STREET WAS CREATED BY ME!!!! THERE IS NOTHING THERE!"

"But maybe we can just try?"

"NO! NOT MY HIDDEN STREET!"

"But Mrs. Black, we'll never get rid of Sirius!" Aisling muttered.

Mrs. Black gave a hard, cold, glare, but simply screamed, "FOLLOW ME!"

They walked through a field of saw grass that cut their ankles, though Mrs. Black seemed quite oblivious to the sharp edges of the grass. Soon they came to a wall. It was just a strange wall, gray and made of stone, covered in green, tangled vines.

"COVER YOUR EARS!!!!!! CLOSE YOUR EYES!!!!!!"

They did so. When they opened their eyes, and uncovered their ears, the wall was gone. Not a trace of it was there, in fact, if they hadn't seen it, they would have thought there had been nothing there. They stepped in. It was a dark alleyway, and deadly quiet. It naturally gave everyone shivers.

Suddenly, Sirius's mother halted.

"WHAT IS THAT???"

"What?" Aisling asked.

"THAT!!!!!! I NEVER PUT IT THERE!!!! WHO BROKE IN????"

Aisling hastily looked at the parchment.

James, Lily, and Sirius peered over too. It showed five of them standing in front of a strange door. As soon as they looked up from the parchment, there, they saw what Sirius's mother was staring at. It was a strange, wooden door, just sitting there. You could not see what was behind it.

Sirius watched as his mother tried to pick it up. But it did not budge.

"I think we have to go through it," Aisling said.

"But what if there's something behind it?" James asked.

"It's what it says on the map," Aisling replied.

"I don't have a good feeling…" James said.

"But it's our last hope," Lily replied.

"Well, the only hope we have, we should – "

"GET IN!!!!!" Sirius's mother shouted.

She opened the door and walked in. Without a choice, they followed her. It wasn't long before Aisling gave a loud yell…


	7. Surprises, Surprises, Surprises

Into the Spirit World

By Moony

Chapter 7

"What are you doing here?" Aisling yelled.

Sirius blinked. There was a boy who didn't appear much older than Aisling. He had blonde hair and brown eyes, and a wide, devilish grin. He was wearing green robe on top of a white shirt and shorts. He seemed to glow like Aisling did, and his cheeks were rosy too.

"What the hell is going on?" Sirius asked.

No one answered. Aisling was still staring furiously at the boy.

"This is _my_ assignment! I wanted to help Sirius and James! Stop butting in to every single assignment I get!"

"Assignment?" James asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Yeah, it was an _assignment_ to help us?" Lily asked.

"Oh now look at what you've done! You've screwed it up!" Aisling moaned.

"What? It's not my fault you had to blurt it out about assignments and stuff, you big blabbermouth!"

"Don't call me names!"

"Or what?"

"Or I'll hurt you!"

"Haha, as if you could."

"I _could_."

"Then do it. Give me all you've got," the boy said defiantly.

_**WHAM! **_

The punch had hit the boy square on the nose.

"Take that!"

"Aisling, can you please bother to tell us what the heck is going on?" Sirius asked.

"Well, I guess you have to know now."

She took a sigh.

"I'm an Angel-In-Training."

"A what? How come you never told me?" James gasped.

"Because, angels don't tell people they're angels of course! Anyway, so, I was almost done with training, and the last stage is when an angel earns their wings. This assignment was _the_ assignment that would earn me my wings. To help you find the archway. But Sande messed it up! He _always_ messes it up!"

"No I don't! You always mess _mine_ up!"

"Nuh-uh!"

"Uh-huh!"

"How much do you wanna bet?"

"Shut up!"

"Don't tell me to shut up!"

"I _am_ telling you to shut up."

"You shut up!"

"You're not the boss of me."

"Yes I am."

"How?"

"I'm older than you!"

"By six minutes!"

"Wait – This guy, Sande, he's your twin?" Sirius asked.

"Yeah, unfortunately," Aisling said, sticking out her tongue.

All this time, Sirius's mother was silent. As Sirius looked, she almost looked… normal. Like a loving mother. She was thoughtful, and then she murmured, "Angels. Angels. So you know the way to the Living."

Sirius stared. Had his mother just _murmured_? _Murmured_ instead of screamed? He blinked. This was unbelievable!

"Yes, and it's right behind one of these doors," Sande said, pointing around.

Sirius noticed that there were many of them. Each one looked exactly the same.

"Well, we can just go in every one of them," Lily said, "And see which one it is."

"There's one problem," Sande said.

"What?" James asked.

Aisling grimaced.

"Well, you see, you can only enter one, and then all the others seal up," she said.

Sirius stared at the walls. So it was only one. One chance. One wrong choice, and he could never go back. But shouldn't Aisling know? If she was an 'angel-in-training' wouldn't she know which door it was? After all, it _was_ her 'assignment'. And the map thingy said that she and his mum was supposed to find it.

Wait – the map. Had that map been _given _to her by someone? Someone who was training her? If so, then was Aisling still hiding something? Was this boy, Sande, hiding something too?

"But you're the angel, Aisling. You have to assignment!" James said.

"Yeah, the only problem is, I don't know. I was just supposed to leave you here. Chan said 'something would happen' that would complete my mission."

"Who's Chan?" Sirius asked.

"The Instructor."

"So we're going to wait here for 'something to happen'?" Sirius asked.

"I guess," Aisling replied.

"This is insane!"

"I have a feeling it's that one though," Aisling said, pointing at the farthest one.

What a choice. If they didn't choose, they wouldn't make it. If they chose, they had a bit of a chance. But if they made a wrong choice, it was bye-bye to the Living. So heck, what were they supposed to do? And how long would it take for 'something to happen'? He was so close, yet so far! It was being on the threshold of victory and triumph, but there was one last obstacle they still could not overcome.

Sirius scowled.

"We might as well have something to eat," Lily murmured. She conjured the tent. "Everyone in!"

With looks of defeat, all of them filed into the tent, except for Mrs. Black.

"Mrs. Black?" Lily asked tentatively, "Do you want to come in?"

Mrs. Black seemed to pay no notice, but she stood up and walked to the farthest door.

"It is this one," she said loudly.

* * *

Ahh. I don't like this one very much. Too. Much. Bloody. Dialogue. -Moony 


	8. Endless Darkness

Into the Spirit World

Moony

JKR owns everything! Except for Aisling and Sande. They are my creations.

Sorry for the bad dialogue chapter. Once again, I will try hard to stop BLOODY DIALOGUE. Dialogue is eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeevil. –Moony

Chapter 8

"Uh… what?" James asked, poking his head out of the tent.

"YOU HEARD ME. IT'S THIS ONE!" she yelled, back to her normal self seemingly.

"And how would _you_ know, you old hag?" Sirius asked bitterly.

"BECAUSE I AM SMARTER THAN YOU DIM-WITTED ONE," she yelled.

"Oh are you!"

"Sirius, I really think we should try…" Lily said.

"Why are you listening to the old hag?"

"It was on the paper Sirius! Your mom is supposed to help find it, along with an angel, Aisling!"

"What if it's wrong Lils?"

"What if it's right? There's a chance, Sirius. If we stay here there is no chance!"

"But something's supposed to happen! Aisling said!" Sirius said stubbornly.

"I have an idea. How about we wait for a while for 'something to happen'. If nothing does, we go through that door," James said.

Sirius gritted his teeth. What choice did he have? Even his best friend seemed to want to charge through that door.

Mrs. Black seemed to go along too.

"And how long do we wait?" Sirius asked fiercely.

"How about an hour or so?" Sande asked.

"No, I don't think Chan expected it to happen that quick. How about three?" Aisling suggested.

"Fine. Three hours," Sirius said, with a voice of defeat.

James went to get some Butterbeers and they sat around the table in silence, drinking the Butterbeer. Sirius watched the clock. He was dreading the time when they were going to go through that door. He was almost certain there was nothing that would help behind that door. Tick… tick… the hands on the clock moved closer. Sirius took a tremendous gulp of Butterbeer.

It warmed him, but it did not soothe the churning in his stomach. It was a feeling of dread, apprehension, anger, fear, worry. In a matter of minutes, Lily stood and said, "It's been three hours."

Sirius's heart pounded. They stepped out the tent, and Lily folded it all up with her wand. Step by step, they got closer to the door, until at last, they were right in front of it.

"Here goes!" Aisling said, her hand reaching out to the knob. She turned it, and opened it.

As soon as the door opened, it seemed an invisible force was pushing them, and they all fell in, through the door. It slammed behind them. It was dark. Total darkness with no light. Sirius could not see a thing, though his eyes had adjusted long ago. There was no light infiltration. He couldn't even see his own hand. His heart sank. It was surely the wrong one. They could wander in this place forever, never finding the archway, or the door to get back.

"James? Lily? Aisling? Sande? Mum?" he called.

He took a step back.

"OUCH!" a voice cried, the familiar voice of James, "Ouch! Get off my foot Sirius! I'm right next to you!"

Sirius stepped back, then felt for James' hand.

"There you are," he said with relief.

"Can you guys get off me?" Sande asked.

The two looked down, but did not see anything. They bent down and fell off whatever it was they were standing on.

"Ow!" Sirius said.

"That's better. My back hurts now!" Sande whined.

"James? Sirius? Are you guys there?" Lily's voice yelled. The voice was very close to Sirius.

"Right here Lilykins," Sirius teased.

"Where's my sister?" Sande asked.

"Aisling?" James called.

There was no answer.

"Oh no!" Lily said.

"Don't worry, we can find her," Sirius said.

"Aww? Can't we just leave her?" Sande asked.

"_Lumos!_" James muttered.

A tiny light flared on the end of James' wand. It sputtered, then went out. They all were shocked. Was the darkness so powerful? The Lumos charm had never failed before.

Sirius took out his own wand, and tried too. It also sputtered, then died.

"_Incienso!_" Lily said. Bluebell flames shot out. It seemed there would be light for awhile, but then it too, flickered, sputtered, then died.

"The darkness is like… impenetrable. What are we going to do? We can't get back to that door if we can't see a thing!" Sande wailed.

"It's all your fault Mum!" Sirius yelled.

But there was no screaming reply. Sirius realized his mother was no where in sight either. Where were Aisling and his mother? Sirius did not move. He was afraid if he moved, he would lose James and Lily and Sande, and then he'd be lost. He would wander forever in the endless darkness. Lily shivered next to him.

The four of them stood there, at a loss for what to do. What could you do if you were in endless darkness that could not be chased away by light? What could you do but stand there? It was dangerous, and now Sirius could never, never go back to the Living and help Harry.

Then, Sirius heard something. A soft whisper, but it seemed to warm his heart and soul.

"Do you hear that?" Sirius asked.

"Yes…" James breathed.

The whispering sounded like French…

_"Lumière, lumière, lumière, laissez la lumière conquérir l'obscurité, laissez le blanc conquérir le noir, laissé il y ait lumière, lumière, lumière, lumière…"_

And next to Sirius, Sande was whispering in the same tone that warmed them all,

_"Light, light, light, let the light conquer the darkness, let the white conquer the black, left there is light, light, light, light."_

* * *

Paddy and I and our friend nicknamed Fluffy, we have created a guild dedicated to the Marauders on Neopets! It'd be great if some of you reading our works could join! If you don't want to, please at least look at it. Go to:Neopets,search formaraudingmaniacs, then click on our guild.THANKS! 


	9. Back

Into the Spirit World

Moony

JKR owns everything! Except for Aisling and Sande. They are my creations.

Chapter 9

"Light… light…" 

The voice was magical. The voice was warming. The voice was just… something. It made Sirius lose his worries. He forgot all but the warmth coming. As he heard, as he felt, he thought the darkness was lessening. It seemed he could see such now. A tiny glow radiated from the corner, letting out warmth and light. The darkness did not seem so ominous, it felt balanced.

Next to him, Sande was flaring in light. He could see Aisling now, also flaring, glowing in some magical way. It was a kind of glow that seemed to make time bend. All Sirius knew was that wonderful warmth.

The light grew brighter and brighter, and suddenly, all was revealed. No longer was there darkness. Gasping, Sirius looked at his surroundings – the same surroundings that he had seen when he first arrived into the Spirit World. The flower garden, the trees, the meadows… it was all familiar.

"Et celui qui doit vivre ira de nouveau à la vie… la vie… la vie…" Aisling whispered in the same voice. 

"_And that which must live will go again to the life…" _Sande whispered next to him.

"Laissez l'entrée à la vie apparaître!" 

"_Let the entrance into the living appear!"_

Both voices joined into one, English and French. And someone… someone was singing in a beautiful voice as Sirius watched in awe. A golden thread seemed to take place in the middle of the roses he had landed in when he had arrived. It slowly curved into an arch, still shining. A thin, pearly white veil flowed down like a waterfall.

The light flaring from Aisling and Sande stopped, but they still glowed. Their shining eyes returned to their normal state. But there was something different…

"My wings! Oh my gawd! My… my wings!"

Aisling's hands reached out to finger her beautiful white wings, a halo topped her head, and she seemed ever so graceful, yet she still looked like the wild thirteen-year-old with freckles and chestnut hair.

Sirius turned to look at Sande, who was equally stunned at his own glowing wings.

"Me? This wasn't… this wasn't my assignment? Oh… wings! I've dreamed for this… dreamed about earning the wings so long…."

Sirius stared as Aisling flapped them a bit, and rose.

"Whee! Look! I'm flying!" Aisling said.

Sande rose too, "So am I!"

Sirius finally turned to look at the golden archway.

"Is that… is that… the…"

Sirius was afraid to say it. What if he cursed it? What if the minute he said it, it was gone? He stared at it. Was it? Was it? Did he dare hope? Did he dare believe?

"It is," a soft voice said.

It belonged to his mother… And that voice was so different. It had warmth and caring. It seemed to be understanding. It couldn't be his mother. Yet it was, the same dark hair, dark eyes, the same clothes… but she was different. Her eyes were warmer.

Then another shimmering outline appeared. An outline of a person. And soon the same person materialized. He was a handsome man, clad in white. He was glowing brighter, but with the same warmth that Aisling and Sande emitted. His wings were sweeping and white. His face was loving. He smiled at Sirius.

"It is time, Sirius Black…" he said in a deep, voice, "I am Chan, the head of all angels."

"Time? Time to go…"

Sirius looked at the archway.

"Yes. Time to back to the Living."

Sirius felt his heart lighten. He was going back! He was going to help Harry! But another part of his heart yanked him back. It felt like lead. He turned to meet Aisling, Sande, Lily… and James. He stared at all the people he had met. The beautiful world he had seen. Could he leave it? How could he go back to the Living, when he knew there was a world up here? Where he and Harry could be with everyone that they could thought they would never see again?

Angels and Spirits. Hell, he had gone through a lot. But at the threshold of triumph… his heart had turned to lead. He could not step through the veil. Tears swam.

"I don't want to leave!" he suddenly cried out. He was ashamed. He was acting like a young child.

He quickly pushed his tears away.

"Oh Sirius!" Lily said softly.

"It's ok Padfoot. It's ok… Moony's down there. Harry's down there. Dumbledore's down there. You have to go back," Sirius said.

"I can't. I can't. Not when I know, not when I know… there's a whole new world up here. I can't just… just _leave_!"

"You have to, Sirius. And it's not like you'll never see us again. One day. One day you'll be back. And we'll all be together here, here in the Spirit World. You, me, Lily, Aisling, Remus, Harry… we'll all be together. It'll be like… a happily ever after. Voldemort will be vanquished. The world will be peaceful. And we'll be together. It can happen. But you have to go back…" James whispered softly.

Sirius gave a sob. He had to leave his best friend again… he had to leave everyone.

"Don't worry, it'll work out," Mrs. Black suddenly said, in the same loving tone.

Sirius stared at his mother.

"You've changed Mum…" he said.

"Angels… angels…" she simply whispered.

A light was getting stronger and stronger. Slowly, the images of the Spirit World were fading.

"You must go Sirius Black. I will take you. You must trust me. You must let me guide you," Chan said.

Sirius hugged Lily. He hugged Aisling. He hugged James. And he stared at his mother, not knowing what to do.

She answered for him. She pulled him into an embrace. In all the years of his life, Sirius had never had a hug come from his mother. It made his heart full. The love of a mother… all he had wanted as a child. He finally received it. Hell, it would be hard to leave this world.

Chan took his hand. The golden light was taking much of the images around him.

Together, they stepped through the veil.

Golden light surrounded him, yet it did not blind. Sirius closed his eyes. He felt himself coming back. He felt life. He felt his heart beating. He felt… alive.

And as the golden light left, as Chan's strong hands slowly fell, Sirius felt love…

Love, as he sailed through the passageway, and Sirius opened his eyes.

"Sirius?" a familiar voice called.

The tears started flowing again. He was back.

**_The End_**

* * *

It's over! I'll really miss writing this fic! I really love all you reviewers. You all made this become wonderful, you all inspired me. I thank you with cookies and hugs! Now I'll be working on a new fic about Percy, called 'I've Changed, I really Have'. Maybe you guys can read that? We'll see. We'll just see. –Moony 


	10. I Fell Through the Veil poem

I Fell Through the Veil

By Moony

I wrote this poem a while ago, but I didn't find it until I was cleaning my room a few minutes earlier. So, here it is! ('I fell through the veil' indicates a new stanza, won't let me make a double double space)–Moony

_A red spell shot straight at my chest,_

_A moth-covered veil, and void is the rest._

_A cry of my name,_

_A cry of horrible pain._

_I fell through the veil._

_An endless darkness, and a tiny light,_

_I knew I had gone on a death flight._

_Life and body floating from me,_

_I became a spirit that no living could see,_

_I fell through the veil._

_Dead people lost, so long ago,_

_I couldn't stop the tears starting to flow._

_In the Spirit World, there I was,_

_Feeling lost, sad, feeling so much love._

_I fell through the veil._

_Searching for an entrance into the living,_

_Thankful for all the help my friends were giving._

_Meeting the family, meeting the angels,_

_French, my mother, and Chan, the head angel._

_I fell through the veil._

_A golden archway, a silvery veil,_

_I felt hope, we hadn't failed._

_Yet I couldn't leave my friends who were here,_

_Even though victory was so near._

_I fell through the veil._

_The angel, he took my hand,_

_I knew I was to leave this wonderful land._

_We through darkness once again,_

_Seeing the golden light closer around the bend._

_**I fell through the veil,**_

_**Once again.**_


End file.
